The Foundation organized a week long summer training program for college students and NGO Professionals from the 12th – 18th June, 2015 at the Eco – Ashram, Medawala, Thano, Dehradun. Of a total of 27 participants, 23 were law students from various esteemed institutions from all over the country, in addition to a member each from the NGOs One Nature, Bombay and Environment Support Group, Bangalore.
This camp was aimed at providing students with the opportunity to learn from the experience and vision of experts in the field and understand their significant role in protecting the future of our environment. Through lectures, field trips, nature walks and presentations, in addition to the experience of living in the lap of nature at our Eco-Ashram, we aimed to help students internalize the spirit to stand up for our planet by understanding its problems and arriving at possible solutions.
The participants were addressed by eminent people in the field of environmental conservation including scientists, forest officers, retired government servants, activists, aggrieved communities etc. The following is the list of speakers and a summary of their lectures.
Mr. Joy Mangalani from the NGO One Nature, Bombay along with Shyam Aggarwal, a second year law student from Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat, conducted the daily early morning yoga sessions. Mr. Naresh Bharadwaj conducted daily morning drills to instill a sense of discipline in the participants. Late comers were made to jog few extra rounds so as to impress upon them the importance of time, a lesson which is highly useful later in professional life as well. Traversing the rugged jungle path in the treks by helping each other to move firmly, at times holding hands to keep the other from falling, helped the participants bond better. Walking in the shade of the Sal trees and listening to the chirping and singing of the birds against the absence of any human sounds, helped them imbibe the pristine beauty and harmony of nature. With rugsacks and sticks, the MCMEF team of Green warriors thronged the Thano Mandir to wipe of any remaining trace of plastic that lied therein. Equipped with the training received during the cleaning at the Mandir, the participants were now all set for the final performance, determined to rid the banks of Mother Ganga of any plastic waste. Seeing our team of 30 spread all over the ghat going about its cleaning, the onlookers were really inspired and began lending a helping hand, throwing a word or two of encouragement occasionally. The Temple Samiti Pandits were also very supportive as were few other tourists.
The students were excited to know that almost all cures to their medical problems lay in nature and were really surprised to see those cures in plants which they may have earlier dismissed. To ensure that they took some knowledge back home, the participants recorded short videos of each other explaining the significance of the plant and its properties. Few participants even purchased a few Stevia plants, which they promised to take care of like their own child. All in all, it was a really refreshing and informative experience.
The participants were divided into groups of four and were required to present on various topics including Climate Change and Global Warming, Sanitation, Hygiene and Public Nuisance, Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation, Water Pollution, Air Pollution, Energy and Environment, Alternative sources of energy, Municipal Solid Waste.
Case Presentation : Akhil Bharatiye Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sangh v. NPCIL & Ors.
All participants are equally divided into petitioners and respondents and are required to present their arguments in a Moot Court Competition before Sh. Mr. M.C. Mehta and Sh. Dr. G.D. Aggarwal. After extensively researching through the previous night, participants presented substantial arguments from both sides with the ruling being given in favour of the petitioners.